Day 33:
If I can't have fresh snow, I'll take this weather: sunny, deep blue skies, hardly a breath of wind, and temps in the 40s.
In a word, gorgeous. Today was picture-perfect. I waited until late morning to let things soften, arriving at 11 am to 45 degrees in the Wildcat lot after a 25-minute drive from home with the windows rolled down, the sunroof open, and live Pixies cranking from the car stereo. Spring fever sure feels good!
Marc_C and I spent the next two hours cruising groomers, partly out of concern for snow in the off-piste, and partly due to the fact that he's still recovering from a nasty chest cold and still feels weak. A foray into Ballroom, however, revealed some wonderfully dry and soft snow -- something that I hadn't necessarily expected.
By 1 pm, friend Jonathan joined us. Jonathan's visiting from L.A., and caught a morning flight to SLC. He dropped his bags at GMD and headed out for an afternoon of skiing.
After a quick trip out Ballroom to the Collins angle station, and another shot out the High Traverse to Jake's, Marc_C decided to rest up a bit at GMD. Jonathan and I struck out for a tour of some of the higher and wilder places at Alta. First up: High Notch. Backside had some wonderfully skiable light, dry, loose snow down to the gravity traverse coming from Yellow Trail, and some chalky small bumps below that.
Up Sugarloaf, and into Devil's Castle. Surprisingly light and fluffy, there were even a couple of untracked turns tucked in amongst the chowder. We popped out onto the Supreme cat track and rode Supreme, when Marc_C called and announced that he was opting to call it a day to go home and rest up. We headed for the Spiny Chutes, which by now were nearly corn in the direct sun. Wowzers!! All manner of snow conditions were available today, and you could have nearly anything you wanted simply by choosing your aspect.
For the last run, we went back up Sugarloaf, all the way out the High T, and down into Eagle's Nest, traversing in to the lower Hourglass and finishing via Rustler 4.
It was now 3:30, and I was toast. Jonathan kept skiing, heading for Wildcat while I called it a day after 15,400 total verts.
If I can't have fresh snow, I'll take this weather: sunny, deep blue skies, hardly a breath of wind, and temps in the 40s.
In a word, gorgeous. Today was picture-perfect. I waited until late morning to let things soften, arriving at 11 am to 45 degrees in the Wildcat lot after a 25-minute drive from home with the windows rolled down, the sunroof open, and live Pixies cranking from the car stereo. Spring fever sure feels good!
Marc_C and I spent the next two hours cruising groomers, partly out of concern for snow in the off-piste, and partly due to the fact that he's still recovering from a nasty chest cold and still feels weak. A foray into Ballroom, however, revealed some wonderfully dry and soft snow -- something that I hadn't necessarily expected.
By 1 pm, friend Jonathan joined us. Jonathan's visiting from L.A., and caught a morning flight to SLC. He dropped his bags at GMD and headed out for an afternoon of skiing.
After a quick trip out Ballroom to the Collins angle station, and another shot out the High Traverse to Jake's, Marc_C decided to rest up a bit at GMD. Jonathan and I struck out for a tour of some of the higher and wilder places at Alta. First up: High Notch. Backside had some wonderfully skiable light, dry, loose snow down to the gravity traverse coming from Yellow Trail, and some chalky small bumps below that.
Up Sugarloaf, and into Devil's Castle. Surprisingly light and fluffy, there were even a couple of untracked turns tucked in amongst the chowder. We popped out onto the Supreme cat track and rode Supreme, when Marc_C called and announced that he was opting to call it a day to go home and rest up. We headed for the Spiny Chutes, which by now were nearly corn in the direct sun. Wowzers!! All manner of snow conditions were available today, and you could have nearly anything you wanted simply by choosing your aspect.
For the last run, we went back up Sugarloaf, all the way out the High T, and down into Eagle's Nest, traversing in to the lower Hourglass and finishing via Rustler 4.
It was now 3:30, and I was toast. Jonathan kept skiing, heading for Wildcat while I called it a day after 15,400 total verts.
